Gilbert S. Ross

Gilbert S. Ross, 86, passed away after a sudden illness on March 5, 2017 in Midlothian, VA. He is survived by his beloved wife, Joyce I. Ross, children (Madelyn, Jennifer, and Malcolm), and six grandchildren. Dr. Ross, a neurologist, was a 1955 graduate of Upstate Medical University, Syracuse NY. He served as a captain in the US Army, completing a two-year stint at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in DC, before returning to Syracuse as professor and chairman of the Department of Neurology at Upstate Medical Center from 1964 to 1985. During two sabbaticals, he worked at the Wellington Hospital in New Zealand in 1973 and the Shanghai Brain Research Institute in China in 1980. He also worked as a volunteer to develop housing for low-income senior citizens in Syracuse, and served as director of the Syracuse Housing Authority in the mid-1970s. The Gilbert S. Ross Senior Residence Towers on Lodi Street in Syracuse are named in his honor. In 1985, Gilbert and Joyce moved to Florida, where he became professor and Chief of Neurology Service at the Bay Pines Veterans Hospital in Seminole, Florida. He retired in 1993 but continued to volunteer as a neuroscientist at the Bay Pines Research Center. Gilbert and Joyce moved from Florida to Virginia in 2001 to be closer to family. They enjoyed travel, cooking, and spending summers in Canada on the Big Rideau Lake near Ottawa. Dr. Ross was also an active pilot, logging more than 2400 hours of recreational flying time with his wife. A devoted husband, father, grandfather, father-in-law, and friend, he will be sorely missed by many. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Epilepsy Foundation, epilepsy.com